School of happiness to take root in Assam (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- A first-of-its-kind school for imparting lessons on humanity and societal happiness will take root in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam at the dawn of 2024.
Details:
- The foundation of the International School of Peace and Happiness is scheduled to be laid in the first week of January at Bijni in Chirang district of western Assam, one of five in the BTR.
- The project would be initiated after a year of planning by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which administers the BTR.
Background:
- The BTR areas have had a history of extremism resulting in ethnic conflicts, especially between the Bodos, the largest plains tribe in the northeast, and migrant Muslims, and between the Bodos and Adivasis.
- Hundreds were killed and more than 500,000 people were displaced in major communal clashes in 1993, 2008, and 2012.
- The idea of a school specialising in peace-building and spreading happiness had germinated since the United People’s Party Liberal, formed the BTC government with the BJP and the Gana Suraksha Party three years ago.
Bodoland Happiness Mission:
- The school of happiness had its genesis in a pilot project called Bodoland Happiness Mission introduced almost a year ago.
- Some 400 youth and community leaders were chosen to become peace and happiness volunteers after undergoing a few weeks of training at the Bodoland Community Counselling Centres.
- Each district has one such strategically located centre.
India and Oman in talks to sign an economic partnership agreement
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- Recently, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik the ruler of Oman paid his first state visit to India.
- India and Oman are on track to sign a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Key Highlights:
- The two sides signed on five documents that included an agreement between the Financial Intelligence Unit of India and the National Centre for Financial Information (NCFI) to prevent money laundering.
- As a gesture to celebrate the ancient relation between India and Oman the two sides also took up a proposal by the Ministry of Culture to recreate the maritime voyage of a stitched ship which is expected to sail from Mandvi in Gujarat to Muscat during 2025-26.
- They strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
- They underscored the significance of fostering the universal values of peace, moderation, coexistence and tolerance.
Background:
- This is the first state visit to India by an Omani ruler in 26 years.
- Sultan Haitham bin Tarik took charge in 2020 after the death of Sultan Qaboos, who was known for his friendly attitude to India.
- In 2020, Sultan Qaboos was honoured with the Gandhi Peace Prize by India.
Additional organic molecules found in Enceladus’s plume
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- Molecules including methanol, ethane, and oxygen are present in gaseous plumes emitted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a re-analysis of data from the Cassini mission suggests.
Background:
- The Cassini spacecraft first discovered large plumes of material escaping into space from Enceladus’s southern hemisphere in 2005.
- These plumes appear to be coming from a subsurface ocean through fissures in the moon’s icy surface.
- Analyses of data from Cassini’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) collected during flybys in 2011 and 2012 determined the presence of water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and molecular hydrogen in the samples.
Key findings:
- Using a statistical analysis technique, which analysed billions of potential compositions of the plume material, they identified that the most likely composition of the plumes is the five already identified molecules along with newly identified hydrocarbons hydrogen cyanide (HCN), acetylene (C2H2), propylene (C3H6), and ethane (C2H6), and traces of an alcohol (methanol) and molecular oxygen.
- A finding of the work is the find the definite presence of nitrogen at Enceladus in the form of HCN. “Previous studies have been unable to resolve the HCN abundance due to confounding signals from fragmentation products at mass 28,” they write.
- This compositionally diverse chemical reservoir under the surface of Enceladus may be consistent with a habitable environment and could potentially support microbial communities.
Conclusion:
- The ability of these compounds to support life on Enceladus, however, depends largely on how diluted they may be in the moon’s subsurface ocean, the authors note.
